Chapter 84 Facing Difficulties

Dazhu suddenly starting to speak was undoubtedly the happiest event for the Wen family in recent days. Apart from that, the family mysteriously acquired over ten more acres of land. Old Wen, unable to contain his excitement, took his tobacco pipe the very next day and strolled off to inspect his new territory. As he passed by the homes of his old friends, he made sure to mention it, showing off a little, and only then did he leisurely lead a group of people to survey the land.

Wen Yao carried a small stool and sat at the doorway, cracking sunflower seeds and watching the old man strut about with delight, her eyes full of laughter. Thanks to Old Wen’s enthusiastic boasting, word quickly spread through the village that the Wen family had bought more than ten acres of land. This was truly remarkable—who would have thought the eldest son had really turned over a new leaf and even earned the family so much land? Could it be that running a stall at the docks was really that profitable?

As a result, Wen Xiuyi started encountering fellow villagers at the docks who had come to try their luck at stall-keeping. But whether or not others set up stalls had nothing to do with their family; they only needed to mind their own business.

Wen Yao thought her foot injury was minor, but by the third day, she still couldn’t put weight on it and could only stand for a short while; walking was out of the question. Yet she had already promised to oversee a wedding banquet, and the deposit had been paid. Even if she could return the deposit, if she didn’t go, the family’s wedding feast would be ruined.

To accommodate Wen Yao’s injury, Madam Luo borrowed an ox cart from the village chief a day in advance. The next day, Wen Xiuzhu drove Wen Yao there, with Madam Li and Madam Cai accompanying her to prevent any mishaps. If the hosts raised questions, they would simply say the two women were helping for free.

Li and Cai had no objections—these days, the two sisters-in-law treated the eldest branch of the family with near reverence and were more than willing to help.

However, when they arrived at the host’s house and the matron saw Wen Yao leaning on a crutch, her expression darkened.

“Miss Wen, are you really up to this? And on such an auspicious day… like this… it’s not…” The old lady frowned at Wen Yao’s foot, her distaste and displeasure plain to see.

Wen Yao glanced down, realizing she was causing inconvenience, and explained, “Auntie, I’m very sorry. I injured my foot due to some family matters, but it’s fine, it won’t affect my work. I brought my second and third aunts today—they’ll help me.”

The woman’s face fell further as she scrutinized Li and Cai. “You brought extra people? Miss Wen, we agreed it would just be you. Anyone you bring is your responsibility—my family won’t pay extra.”

The implication was clear: anyone she brought was her own concern, and there would be no additional wages.

Wen Yao smiled slightly and held her tongue. They hadn’t intended to ask for more pay, but being told so bluntly still stung.

The old woman hadn’t expected Wen Yao to be so easygoing. She glanced at Wen Yao’s injured foot, then her mind turned and she said, “Miss Wen, with your injury, you’ll surely be limited in what you can do. You’ll have to rely on the other women to help in the kitchen, right? We only agreed to pay two hundred coins because our relatives said you were excellent—no other cook would get such high wages. Don’t you think so?”

She was making it clear that she thought Wen Yao’s injury meant she wasn’t worth the agreed pay.

Wen Yao was not truly a naive ten-year-old. Her gaze cooled a little as she asked, “So, Auntie, what are you proposing?”

The old lady smiled, tucked a stray hair behind her ear, and said, “You see, it’s no easy thing for us to marry off a son—we’ve spent every last coin. Now you’re limited to just supervising, not actually working. Shouldn’t your wages be reduced? After all, it’s just giving instructions.”

Madam Cai said nothing, as she was always the quiet one. But Madam Li was hot-tempered by nature. Ever since Wen Yao and her group arrived, the old woman had been picking faults and speaking with thinly veiled contempt, even though Wen Yao had apologized and humbled herself.

If it were any other cook, they wouldn’t have shown up at all after an injury. Only Wen Yao insisted on coming so as not to ruin someone’s wedding. All the cooks in the countryside had terrible tempers—they only dared bully Wen Yao because she was young.

“Now listen here, Auntie,” Li said, handing Wen Yao over to Cai, “there’s no sense in what you’re saying. My Yao came to help with your wedding despite her injury. She even brought us along to make sure nothing went wrong, without asking for more pay. And now you want to dock her wages? What sort of reasoning is that?”

The old woman was no pushover either. She retorted, not caring that it was her own son’s wedding day, “That’s your problem. If you were injured, you should’ve told me sooner so I could find another cook. It’s bad luck to have injuries and blood at a wedding—I haven’t even mentioned that yet. What’s wrong with paying less?”

Li was so angry she laughed. It was true: had they had more notice—seven or eight days—they would’ve told her to find someone else. But with only two days to go, who could find a replacement? That was why Wen Yao felt she had to come, only to be treated like this.

Li wanted to throw in the towel and leave with Wen Yao right then and there.

Wen Yao saw her aunt’s face flush with anger and quickly took her hand to calm her, then addressed the old woman: “Auntie, how much do you think is fair?”

“One hundred and eighty—no, one hundred and fifty coins,” the old woman replied, her stinginess on full display.

Wen Yao could hardly believe that this sharp-tongued old woman was the same person who had, not long ago, humbly begged her to take the job.

“Why don’t you just ask my Yao to work for free?” Li snapped.

The old woman pursed her lips. “I haven’t even complained about you holding up my family’s event. And, Auntie, this isn’t your affair. Miss Wen herself hasn’t said anything—why are you so upset?”

She turned back to Wen Yao. “Look, I don’t mean anything by it. But if you can’t do the work, others have to pick up the slack, so I have to compensate them. You understand, right? Don’t worry, I’ll tell everyone how capable you are—help spread your name. More families will want you as a cook in the future.”

Wen Yao smiled. In other words, if she didn’t agree, the woman would bad-mouth her to everyone.